Gentleman of Spain with Crimson Cape and Sword, Jefferys Costume Plate, 1757

An original antique print, a copper engraving colored by hand, lettered "Habit of a Gentleman of Spain." A bearded man with an upturned mustache walks toward the viewer's left, wearing a crimson cap with a gold band and a small fluted ruff. A short crimson cape, faced with pale blue embroidered in gold, is thrown over one shoulder, and his loose pale blue sleeves are patterned with gold flowers. Below a buttoned doublet he wears full puffed trunk hose in golden brown, with pale stockings and dark slippers. A sword in a dark scabbard angles out behind him, and he holds a pair of gloves in his outstretched hand. A soft engraved shadow falls to the right of his feet.

Two lines of lettering run below the figure. The English title, in a flowing script, reads "Habit of a Gentleman of Spain." The French caption beneath it reads "Espagnol.", meaning "Spaniard", and the number 121 is engraved at lower right. The plate carries no engraver or designer credit.

Thomas Jefferys, Geographer to his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, published A Collection of the Dresses of Different Nations, Antient and Modern from his premises in the Strand, London, and this plate is from the second volume, dated 1757 on its title page. The title page credits the designs to Holbein, Vandyke, Hollar and others, and a French title, Recueil des Habillements de Différentes Nations, accounts for the bilingual lettering. It falls among the Spanish figures of the volume. Its English title gives no year. The plate itself was published in 1757.

Framed with a generous mat, it makes a crisp accent for a dressing room, a study or a hallway.

This is an original antique print, not a modern reproduction. This item is sold unframed.